


Heart Wired

by shadowtask



Category: Destiny (Video Games), Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: ByledettaWeek, Catherine would totally be a Striker Titan, DestinyAU, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, In Memory of Cayde-6 (Destiny), Love Across Time and Space, Time and Space Stuff, married couple feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26327197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowtask/pseuds/shadowtask
Summary: But how? Was this Vex tech? Was this the work of the Infinite Forest?These flashes of… life? Of time?How were they all focused on them both?In some Guardians, paracausality can manifest in some pretty unique ways. For Byleth and Bernadetta, a trip to the Infinite Forest has led to some strange dreams and feelings regarding a place foreign yet familiar to them both. (A collection of connected stories for Byledetta Week, set between the world of Destiny and Three Houses.)
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Visions of You (Let's go out)

**_"An infinity of possible worlds, so perfectly simulated as to be indistinguishable from the experiences I once called “reality.” I can touch them, taste them, pass lifetimes in them! They grow within this machine like fruit upon a tree — no, a forest of trees, its fractal expansion nigh unmeasurable." - the Legendary Warlock, Osiris, speaking on the Infinite Forest_ **

"Welcome back to the Forest, you two. Sorry to pull you away again to help remedy another of Osiris' goofs."

The ever playful voice of Osiris' Ghost, Sagira chimed in over the communications channel of two Guardians. Having just entered the massive gate to the impossibly huge Vex network on Mercury, revealing a true to name, infinite expanse of potential, all held deep within the core of the planet closest to the Sun.

"Goofs? This is no mere blunder, Sagira! We are on the precipice of a startling revelation, a glimpse into timelines uncorrupted by the Vex! Come, I require your assistance once again, my friends." Osiris, sounding annoyed by the accusations of his oldest companion calmly explained soon after.

The taller of the two Guardians let out a chuckle and looked to his right at his companion, another Hunter, clutching her combat bow close ever since passing through the Vex Gate into the Forest. "Told you this was going to be fun, Bernie." his gentle voice explained, sounding amused, hopeful, filling the space between them.

"T-This really wasn't what I was expecting when you offered to take me somewhere, Byleth…"

Drawing the well-known silvered hand cannon, Hawkmoon, from his hip, Byleth smiled underneath his helmet and motioned down the stone stairs that had materialized in front of them. Taking a step down, he raised his weapon confidently to his cloaked shoulder and looked back to his companion.

Bernadetta was a fairly unusual Hunter by Guardian standards. Sure, at first glance, her well kept cloak and armor, adorned with shades of lavender, byzantium, gold, and other hand picked colors fit the physical description, but it was the woman underneath the armor who left others the most perplexed.

Nervous, timid, reclusive were just a few of the words that would come to the minds of other Guardians to describe her.

She would usually agree with them too, for the most part.

Byleth on the other hand would completely disagree.

Having taken a liking to her and agreeing with his former mentor, Cayde-6's belief that Bernadetta was much more than meets the eye, Byleth had, a few years ago, begun to bring her along on his assignments frequently. Always offering her his company, he had quickly befriended her and had been told by Bernadetta herself that as long as he was around, she would be able to somewhat comfortably leave the Last City.

Byleth got to witness during their time together just how much more Bernadetta was than she would make one believe.

He would be the first and proudest to describe her as strong-willed, deeply caring, and the most skilled archer he had ever seen.

“Hey at least there’s no Panoptes this time!” he called back to her while scouting out a potential route for them to navigate.

"Always on the move, isn't he?" a metallic voice, lovingly joked over her shoulder as she watched Byleth look around the path in front of them.

Bernadetta nodded with a smile under her own helmet and felt a warmth in her chest at the sight. "Y-Yeah… w-we better keep up!”

Watching the Hunter ahead of her hop to a freshly spawned platform of rock and foliage, Bernadetta admired the grace and skill he moved with. His tattered black cloak and hood blowing in the unnatural wind of the Forest with every movement, his movements bearing no trace of the weight of the various cobbled together pieces of armor he had chosen to outfit himself with, some trophies and relics of his past adventures and conquests.

Bernadetta once described Byleth to some other Guardian friends using the word “amazing” at least five or six times in the same sentence. He was fearless, confident, outgoing, always willing to lend a hand or ear to those in need.

In short, to her, Byleth was everything she never believed she could ever be.

Hopping down the stairs to follow after him, she began to wonder, after just how much she had been by his side through…

Maybe… just maybe, there was a small chance she one day could be everything he would describe her as.

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

“Okay, what the hell is actually going on…”

Byleth mused aloud as he and Bernadetta passed by yet another transmatted in squad of robotic Vex Goblins who shook their focus from their lone red eyes and fell to a single knee, non-combative, as the two Guardians casually walked past.

Bernadetta gulped back a growing lump of gear in her throat. Keeping her bow nocked, her fingers gripping the string tight in the event the sentiment machines around them pounced on the opportunity to surround and attack.

"They look like they're… praying?" she quietly thought aloud upon passing one final Hobgoblin unit at the end of the row. "But what would…"

Byleth visibly tensed up after stopping to look back at the numerous docile Vex behind them. "Last time I saw Vex praying…" his voice trailed off, memories of his mission to the Black Garden flashing in his mind.

Nodding over to Sothis, Osiris' voice crackled briefly before coming through clear. "Yes, Guardian?"

"Osiris, have any of the Vex you've encountered in here lately been displaying any… weird tendencies?" Byleth narrowed his eyes at the nearest Goblin and asked into the channel.

"Weird tendencies? Define weird." the Warlock's voice was careful, measured, the concern was palpable.

Bernadetta, full of unease, slid behind Byleth and pointed towards the Vex drones even knowing Osiris would not be able to see. "I've never seen a Vex pray before…"

Silence filled the channel briefly before their guide came back with a stern tone of voice. "This is deeply concerning… you are approaching the anomaly I was investigating. Do you have an idea as to what they might be praying to?"

Sharing a nervous look between them, Byleth and Bernadetta looked back at the lines of Vex behind them and noticed them all looking in their direction.

"Uh… maybe…"

The soft metallic hum of a nearby, fully operational Vex Conflux interrupted the conversation at hand.

Catching their attention, the pair of Hunters spun around slowly, finding themselves staring at an unfamiliar design of conflux.

"Osiris…?" Byleth whispered once more, his Ghost materializing into view over his shoulder.

Greeted by nothing but static and cut words, Byleth's Ghost, Sothis, floated out in front of him. "This strange conflux seems to be the source of the interference…" she mused with the faintest hint of annoyance.

"Sothis. Careful." Byleth warned, raising his hand to stop her from approaching further. "We don't know what it is."

Bernadetta leaned forward, her curiosity getting the better of herself. "It… looks like a tree…" unable to hide the awe in her voice. "But…"

Aliena, hovering protectively behind her, stayed close over her shoulder to keep an eye on her as she studied the brightly glowing, taller construct.

From the stone below, a thin, blade-like structure had sprouted forth from the ground. Like the tree that Bernadetta had likened it to, the length of the construct was serrated on one side and growing tall into a rugged pair of wing-esque branches, covered in tendrils of radiant light. Above the branches grew a brilliant display of wispy appendages, swaying in the steady breeze of the Forest.

“But why does it sort of resemble a sword…?” Byleth added softly to Bernadetta’s now intense curiosity.

“Is that a simulation seed?” his companion pointed towards the center of the tree, where a small faintly glowing orb, covered in a strange symbol, was levitating within what could only be described as a “socket”.

Reminiscent of the small mechanical spheres of glowing radiolaria found around Mercury and throughout the Forest itself, this orb appeared to them both to be much smoother, much more… almost alien looking.

Sothis, hovering closer to the structure began to scan the object in the center. “This… I-”

Shaking, worrying the two Guardians behind her, she pulled back after a quick analysis and let out a nervous metallic squeak. “I-I don’t like the feeling this thing is giving me, you two.”

Byleth, stepping closer to ensure that his closest friend was safe, was glad to have her quickly fly back behind him, to relative safety. “What did you find?”

Aliena spoke up next after giving her own attempt at analysis, with Bernadetta nervously watching her Ghost work. “Interesting… I am not experiencing any discomfort myself… although this object is… not Vex in nature it would appear.”

Byleth, having removed his helmet, took a deep breath. “This must be what Osiris was talking about--that anomaly.”

“By, you can’t be seriously thinking of-” Bernadetta joined him in removing her own helmet and stared at him in disbelief, her gray eyes wide in disbelief.

Flashing her one of his always comforting smiles, Byleth nodded. “We need to bring it back to him, he can analyze it himself and tell us why Sothis is so spooked.”

Taking one of his gloved hands into hers, Bernadetta couldn’t keep herself from squeezing a bit too hard. “Byleth, please, just-just be careful!”

The blue-haired Hunter slowly nodded and patted her hands with his free one, his face serene, his matching blue eyes full of the distinct warmth he would always show her whenever she was scared.

It was a look of care reserved only for her.

“I will. I promise, Bernie.”

Reaching out, Byleth felt an unfamiliar sensation wash over him as he began to feel compelled to take the sphere from the tree. His fingers brushing against the smooth surface, the last thing he could hear before his eyes went wide and vision exploded with bright, blinding light was Bernadetta shouting his name.

__

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_“Byleth?!_ _”_

_“My King?!”_

_“Kanan?!_

_"Professor?!"_

_“By?!”_

_“Honey?!”_

_“My love?!”_

_The voices, countless names, countless titles, countless languages, all sharing the same fear, the same tone…_

_The same speaker._

_Bernadetta. Every time._

_There was no mistaking it. It was her speaking, like a brilliant chorus, her voice was everywhere, calling to him…_

_He could see the visions as clear as day before him, he was there, in all of them. Sometimes the past, sometimes the future, sometimes the lands and faces around would change, sometimes he would be one of a pair of twins, sometimes he would be someone, sometimes he would be a no one._

_But one thing was always constant._

_She was there with him, every time._

_But how? Was this Vex tech? Was this the work of the Infinite Forest?_

_These flashes of… life? Of time?_

_How were they all focused on them both?_

_Just what was going on?_

_What exactly was he seeing?_

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Inside one of the less prominent bookstores in the town below Garreg Mach Monastery, Bernadetta von Varley rushed to the side of her staggered Professor, Byleth Eisner as he seemed to fall against one of the heavier shelves in the aisle alongside her. Nearly losing the breath in her lungs at the sight of him sucking in a sharp breath and staring at the ground between them in a daze, the smaller young woman darted to his side and tried to get a better look at his pained face.

Reining in his focus, Byleth took a deep breath and blinked his vision clear. Finding Bernadetta staring up at him, eyes full of worry, he raised a shaking, gloved hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples as he leaned against the bookcase next to him for support.

"Professor?" she gently called out to him, placing a hand on his arm.

Calming his tremors, he shook his head and took another slow, meticulous breath in an attempt to steady himself. "I-I'm okay, Bernie."

Pursing her lips and raising a hand to his forehead, she pouted. "You don't seem all right…"

Chuckling as his head stopped pounding and his breath evened, he smiled down at her and looked around the small bookshop they were inside of. "I promise you, I'm fine. Just overworked I think."

Bernadetta pulled her hand back with a blush at her very forward display of concern upon realizing that they were still technically in public. "O-Okay… if you got sick on my birthday, of all days I would never forgive myself…"

“Don’t you worry yourself, Bernie. I’m okay.” he smiled and motioned towards the other end of the store, towards what looked to be a small section of art supplies. “C’mon. Let’s pick out some new brushes and sketchbooks for you.”

“Byleth-I… are you sure?” she looked down at her black boots, worried that he may have been going out of his way for her. “I don’t want you to think you have to-”

Byleth placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Bernie, it’s your birthday. I don’t mind at all.”

Looking away with the ever so slightest blush on his cheeks, Byleth spoke up once more, his voice quiet and shy. “Plus, I… I’m glad you let me take you into town.”

Noticing his expression, Bernadetta blushed a much deeper crimson and held the book she had already picked out earlier to her chest nervously. “I-I enjoy spending time with you, Professor! I--oh no, Bernie!”

Stepping past her, towards the art supplies, Byleth glanced over his shoulder with a tiny smile, his cheeks still dusted red. “I enjoy spending time with you too, Bernie. Let’s finish shopping before we have to get back up to the Monastery though, okay?”

Bernadetta’s heart fluttered at his glance and she struggled to stay composed in that moment.

 **_‘Is this what it feels like to be around someone you love?’_ ** __was the only thought that passed through her mind._ _

“O-Okay!”

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	2. Paradise (Likes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venus seems to be pretty beautiful this time of year.

**_“Whether this site ever held the fabled beauty of the other gardens is unclear, as the Vex had long overwritten it with their anabolic algorithms. But it belongs to the Crucible now, and when I see heavy weapons fire tearing across the landscape, all I see is beauty.”—Lord Shaxx, describing the Floating Gardens of Pomona Mons, Venus._ **

Arms stretched overhead after sitting up from the rock he was lying against, Byleth let out an overexaggerated yawn into the somewhat humid early evening air. “This is probably the calmest I have ever seen this place…” 

Giggling with amusement, Bernadetta nodded happily after tracing another line on her sketchpad in her lap. “Well, considering the last time we were here, you were in the Crucible finals last season.” 

Byleth grinned with pride at the memory but looked over at his companion and nudged her shoulder softly. “You were there too, Bernie. Don’t you ever forget that.” 

Shaking her head, she looked down at her hands in her lap, resting over the drawing she had been working on from their comfortable perch. “I-I was just a weight for you to carry, I-”

Byleth scoffed and slid himself closer to her, placing an arm confidently around her shoulders. “That’s bullshit. El was pinned, Dimi was off doing… Dimitri Titan things, and Khalid had his hands full keeping tabs on everyone--not to mention poor Hilda had to learn our strategies last second with Annette on assignment… Bernie, you had my back that whole time. We couldn’t have won without you.” 

Bernadetta stared down at her sketch of the various foliage and overgrowth in front of them and sighed. “It was only because that was the only place I felt safe…” she whispered half heartedly. 

Removing his arm from her shoulders to gently cover one of her hands with his, Byleth gave it a squeeze, trying to coax a smile from her. “You kept me safe too, Bernie.” 

Past fears creeping up in her mind, she thought back to how the clinching match was down to herself, Byleth, and their opponent, a Titan, who happened to be the previous year’s champion, “Thundercrash” Cassandra. 

_She had been in a complete panic, Byleth needed her to push their numbers advantage but her own fears had taken hold and kept her from acting. Cassandra had erupted into the crackling force of lightning that was her signature ability and namesake, looking to take down both Byleth and Bernadetta with one mighty strike of her missile-like fist. Byleth had tried desperately to rain a hail of gunfire on her as she approached but to no effect._

_Unsure of whether it had been terror at the thought of Byleth being harmed or not wanting to let him down, Bernadetta had instinctively in a panic, produced her Shadowshot bow and launched a void tether between the oncoming storm and her dearest friend. The energy of the tether ripped Cassandra from her coat of furious lightning and suppressed her enough for Byleth to land a rapid pair of finishing shots from his hand cannon, Hawkmoon, squarely securing the victory._

“I-I froze. I almost ruined the entire season for you.”

Letting out a quiet chuckle, Byleth reached up and ruffled her head of messy lavender hair with a smirk on his face all the while. “But you didn’t freeze. You didn’t ruin the season. You saved me and won the match for us. You know you won’t win this argument, Bernie.” 

A defeated grumble was all she could muster, though not without cracking the tiniest smile at his demeanor and his still comforting words. 

He really was never one to let her get down on herself. 

“Fine… um…” her voice trailed off as she moved her hands off of the book in her lap. “What do you think so far?” 

Looking down at the incredibly detailed drawing of the Venusian jungle in front of them, Byleth squinted his eyes slightly, taking in the immense level of detail that she had been able to fill the sketch with. 

It was as if Bernadetta, unassisted by anything other than her own eyes and her own skills, was able to nearly perfectly replicate the jungle sunset in the distance. Byleth was no stranger to her artistic talents, almost every time they had a decently long moment of reprieve when visiting a location outside of the Last City she would try to jot down notes or sketches of the scenery they would happen across. 

He was also no stranger to the look of joy it would bring her as she worked. 

He loved it, whether she knew it or not. 

“I think it looks incredible, Bernie.” he whispered in amazement before looking back up at her, noticing that she was smiling bright at the drawing, proud of hearing his praise for it. “I will never get tired of seeing all of the art you make… you’re so talented.” 

“I don’t know why… but plants make me happy… plants and drawing… I-I wish I knew why, but-” she turned and flashed her adorably excited smile directly at him. “-I don’t mind not knowing at this point. I know I find it scary outside of the City, but with you, Byleth… you’ve shown me so much, so many beautiful places. Thank you.”

It was one of the many things that Guardians were cursed with, depending on which you asked. A second chance at life after being chosen by their Ghost to be resurrected with the powers gifted to them by the lonely Traveler was an opportunity that most beings would never experience. 

However this second life came at a cost. 

Once raised from death and filled with the Light, a Guardian would have no memory of their past life, who they were, what they did before they died, no memory of anything that made them who they once were. 

Not all chosen by the Traveler were able to cope with this fact… 

Sharing a look between them as the sun fell behind the distant treeline, Byleth unconsciously reached up and brushed Bernadetta’s cheek with his ungloved right hand. 

As if understanding the emotional weight of the moment, she looked to him with a soft smile and leaned into his palm, resting her hand over his as he cupped her cheek. 

Not all Guardians were fortunate enough to find solace in what they may have lost. 

Some however… 

“Bernie, I-” 

Letting out a quiet giggle, Bernadetta shook her head, unable to stop herself from smiling more. “I know, Byleth. I don’t know why you do, but I know.”

Some were able to find someone else to make their new life, their new steps into the unknown just a little bit more bearable.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I am terribly sorry, Byleth.” Bernadetta’s gold and violet Ghost, Aliena, bowed her smooth, flower-like shell in apology to the Hunter currently carrying her sleeping Guardian back to their jumpship. “Bernadetta always works so hard on her art and tires herself out so much.”

Byleth shook his head and continued down the quiet path, noticing his ship down the road from them. “Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to apologize for anything, Aliena. Neither does she when she wakes up.” 

Byleth’s own Ghost, Sothis, cheerfully bobbed her prized teal, salmon, and navy colored Crucible Champion’s shell in front of him, letting out a laugh before joking with him like only she could. “If anything, he should be apologizing to you both! Park us closer next time, Byleth!” the playful sarcasm was dripping from her voice, causing her Guardian to scowl briefly before cracking a grin at her. 

“Want me to carry you too, Sothis?” he gently shifted Bernadetta in his arms and held his left palm open, inviting his Ghost to land. “If you’re tired, I can!”

“Ooooh you’re lucky I like you, Byleth!” she pouted and buzzed around behind him, returning to keep an eye out for any potential threats looking to ambush her precious friends. 

Sharing a brief laugh with his Ghost friends, Byleth looked down at the resting Bernadetta in his arms and found himself landing in deep thought as he walked on. 

"I am lucky, aren't I?" he asked, just loud enough for the pair of Ghosts to hear. 

Some would call it luck.

Created by the Traveler in its dying breath, before beginning its eternal vigil over what would eventually become the Last City on Earth, the Ghosts were tasked with seeking out fallen allies of humanity to protect it in its most dire hour. A bleak and unknown world awaited them upon awakening. Bereft of memory and knowledge of who they were and what they were to do with this second chance, the beings then called “Risen” wandered the world, choosing themselves how to use the newfound power they had been granted. 

Years later, after the City was established by those looking to carve out a new permanent home amongst the tattered ruins of Earth’s civilization, Risen began to congregate, soon taking up the moniker of “Guardian”. 

No one exactly understands what a Ghost looks for in a potential Guardian, the tiny machine of Light simply… knows when they find them. 

Thinking about it further, Byleth stopped at the lowered ramp of his personal jumpship and stared down in awe at the sleeping Hunter in his arms. 

For Sothis to have found him.

For Aliena to have found her.

For them to have found each other… 

Was it truly luck? 

“Whatever it is, I am so thankful for it…” he whispered before planting a careful, soft kiss on Bernadetta’s peacefully sleeping forehead. “Sleep well, Bernie. I hope you dream wonderful dreams.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Awakening with an audible yelp of surprise, Bernadetta von Varley shot upright from her bed and shook as she looked around her personal dorm room, panting in an attempt to catch her breath. Raising a shaky hand to her forehead, she let out a deep breath and looked over at her desk, where she kept a sketchbook open and a quill and ink nearby…

…for mornings just like these. 

“A-Another one?” she inquired to the empty early morning air of her room while quickly pulling herself out of her bed to sit at her desk, reaching for the quill. 

As of late, Bernadetta’s dreams would sometimes be so involved and vivid that she would swear she was actually present in them. 

Taking up her quill, she hastily began to draw whatever she could remember from the previous night’s dreams… 

“The Professor was there… but… that place. It looked so… weird.” her voice trailed off as she continued scribbling away at the page, leaving notes, pictures, anything else she could. “So many plants I’ve never seen…” 

Minutes passed, and nearly an hour later, she felt tired and ready to rest again.

Absentmindedly writing down the word “Crucible” in a corner of the rapidly filling page of notes, she paused to look at the very rough drawing of a completely foreign landscape. Ruined buildings of a nearly impossible size and dense foliage lined the length of the picture. 

Something about it was so striking, and so very familiar. 

Deep down, Bernadetta wished so badly that her dreams were as real as they felt, because she hoped that someday maybe she would be able to visit that place with Byleth, a place so beautiful.

Looking over towards the sunny window to her left she felt a wave of sadness wash over her.

“Byleth…” she choked out as a tear fell down her cheek, staining her blue nightshirt. 

Recalling the immediate past few days, and the anguish her beloved Professor was experiencing, she couldn’t help but find herself on the verge of tears once again. 

Jeralt Eisner, Byleth’s father was murdered in cold blood, and she didn’t need a deeper connection to him to understand that the dead had profoundly affected the young man. It all happened so suddenly. The demonic beasts, Monica, Solon, it all happened in the blink of an eye. 

In one moment, her Professor’s world came falling down.

Looking between the window and the large closed door to her room, she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, leaving her earlier works open on the desk. Gathering up a new set of clothes to change into after washing up, Bernadetta clutched them to her chest and sniffed back the tears that already threatened to spill once more.

“M-Maybe I could bring Sir Jeralt some flowers later…” 

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Day 2! I hope things aren’t terribly confusing. (I am so very sorry if they are!) Weaving Destiny time into 3H time is tough due to the lack of a proper timeline for Destiny lore… lotta guesswork!
> 
> Just know I too just want some adorable Byledetta kissy-kissies going on, so don’t worry too much about the intricate details of the Destiny world if you don’t know it!
> 
> Title track: Paradise by Juno Dreams


	3. Running in the Night (Night)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you need to find solace in those right next to you.

**_“Our first meeting, in the Tower saloon. Your laugh made the glasses clatter. You bought three rounds for the entire room. Pahanin introduced us. You sat me down next to you and plied me with questions about Stormtrances. All things that on any other night would have annoyed me. But that night—because it was you—I knew then and there that I never wanted to be without you.” —Eriana-3, in a final letter to Wei Ning before arriving on Luna alongside the First Crota Fireteam._ **

“So much has changed, hasn’t it?” Byleth Eisner sighed, running a hand through his mint green hair as he stared out at the moonlit landscape around him from atop the Garreg Mach ramparts, seemingly lost in thought. “But… we’re nearly done with the fighting, we have to be… I don't want to think about the world where this fighting goes longer...”

The sole person in his company kept quiet watch alongside him, the pair making up a number of those soldiers in Edelgard's army who were keeping watch over the grounds around Garreg Mach. Merely a day ago they had been attacked by a force belonging to the Knights of Seiros, led by their former friends Seteth and Flayn. 

Bernadetta shuddered at the thought of seeing the pair retreat into obscurity after their defeat, Byleth having taken it upon himself to fight each of them, just as he had done in Deirdru… 

"Y-Yeah… I know this is war but…" her quiet voice trailed off into a sad sigh of futility. 

Byleth nodded and reached out with his right hand, carefully resting it upon her left, which had been resting on the stone rampart wall in front of her. 

"It's okay, Bernie… it's okay to feel conflicted… to feel-" he attempted to offer whatever words of comfort he could to her but upon noticing her unmoving reaction to his words, ceased immediately. 

Feeling her wrap her arms around him and lean into his chest, Byleth raised his hands to carefully hold her.

“This is the only thing that can make me happy right now, Byleth… is-is that okay?” she whispered into the fabric of his gray tunic, her voice uneasy and fearful. 

Squeezing her gently, he slid a hand up to her hair and held her close, letting her rest her head in his shoulder. “You know it is. Always, Bernie.” 

Looking out over the rolling hills and mountains surrounding the Monastery, Byleth smiled before kissing the top of Bernadetta’s head. “We’ve come a long way since that night in the Goddess Tower, haven’t we?”

Bernadetta let out a quiet chuckle and pulled back slightly, as to better look him in the eye. “I still stand by the fact that you can sometimes have a spooky silhouette…” 

With a grin, Byleth pushed her back by her shoulders and cocked an eyebrow at her. “How about now? Spooky?” 

Raising a hand to her mouth as she laughed, Bernadetta shook her head and slid her arms around his neck before leaning into him once more. “Nope, not in the least.” 

“I’m glad. I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me, Bernie.” 

Delivering a soft kiss, Bernadetta smiled with a tiny blush on her cheeks. “Even dream you doesn’t want me to be afraid.” 

Byleth, already longing for another kiss from his favorite archer, looked to her with a somewhat confused expression. “Dream me?”

"Y-Yeah… he's, um… y-you don't mind do you?" she instinctively reached for an apology, not wishing to make him uncomfortable with her small revelation of his presence in her dreams.

"Of course not." he gave her a squeeze, his arms still comfortably holding her close. "Is he like me in other ways?" 

Resting her cheek against his chest, she nodded and smiled. "Yes, although…" she sounded hesitant to continue, which immediately drew his attention. “He isn’t from anywhere familiar… like he isn’t even from Fodlan…” 

Byleth hid the shock on his face as she explained further. Describing with broken detail the fantastical world and places she sometimes saw in her brightly vivid dreams, the feeling of something so very real but so very far away. He could tell that these dreams brought her warmth and comfort, even though he was lost in deep thoughts regarding his own experiences with the place he had personally dubbed “The Last” after hearing the phrase “Last City” used frequently in his. 

**_‘Is… she having the same dreams as me?’_ ** he did his absolute best to keep himself composed, his mind racing with questions, burning to be asked of her. 

“Byleth?” she softly called to him, noticing the expression of deep thought painted across his face. “Byleth, are you okay?”

Shaking himself back into focus, he looked back down at Bernadetta and took a deep breath. 

“In your dreams, are we a pair of something called Guardians?”

Gray eyes wide in shock, Bernadetta instinctively clutched onto him harder and tried to not shake with fear at his question. “Y-Yes, how did you--”

Hugging her close, unsure of what could be the reasoning for his shared experience, but simply knowing he wanted to keep her safe and calm, Byleth raised a hand to rest in her hair as he rubbed circles on her back. 

“I’ve… had similar dreams, Bernie.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Here.” Byleth held out a steaming metal mug of tea to his companion at the fireside after setting down the long rifle he had been keeping watch with. 

Cracking a tiny smile, Bernadetta graciously accepted the cup and pulled the field blanket she was covering herself with tighter. “Thank you, Byleth. Are you done for the night?” 

Letting out a sigh as he poked at the fire with a long stick, Byleth nodded. “Yeah. If any Taken felt like dropping in on us at this point, it’s not like me keeping watch would stop them…” his words carried a heavy weight behind them, a weight that Bernadetta immediately picked up on, flinching as she did. 

Noticing that he was speaking more harshly than he wanted, he bowed his head apologetically and stared at the dying fire in front of him. “I-I’m sorry, Bernie. I didn’t--” 

He barely noticed that she had moved from her position on the opposite side of the campfire to sit next to him, opting to lean her head of messy lavender hair against his cloaked shoulder. “Please, don’t worry about me. I… I know you’re still hurting.” 

Looking away from her to hide the tears in his blue eyes, Byleth let out a brief, bitter laugh. “O-Only because we still don’t have a Vanguard.”

“T-The bastard probably wanted one of us to take over for him.” was all he could whisper without his voice cracking. 

Bernadetta pulled away and let her left hand rest over Byleth’s right, which had absentmindedly come to rest on the holstered hand cannon at his hip. A weapon that had replaced his longtime steel, Hawkmoon.

The Ace of Spades. 

The famed personal weapon of the one time Hunter Vanguard, and Byleth’s own mentor, Cayde-6. 

Staring up at the clear starry sky above them, she was thankful that for one solitary night, it seemed as if the European Dead Zone was going to let them both have a brief moment of respite from the constant fight the pair had endured since losing Cayde at the Prison of Elders. 

Although she had been by Byleth’s side the entire time on their quest for justice against Cayde’s murderer, Uldren Sov, the brother of the Awoken Queen, Bernadetta could still see the pain, regret, and sadness in his eyes every time she gazed into them. 

Uldren was dead, killed by Byleth himself, with the Ace of Spades. 

Justice had been served, but the damage had been done. Byleth had been reminded in the coldest way possible that Guardians were only immortal to the eye, that the universe still was full of dangers to their kind, that even the strongest could succumb to what Cayde himself would have called “a bad draw”. 

Spotting a shooting star pass by overhead, Bernadetta closed her eyes and made a simple wish.

Even after coming to understand the reality warping powers of the last wish dragon, the last Ahamkara, Riven, she couldn’t help but find herself following her gut instinct at the sight above. 

Maybe, just maybe, Riven’s monkey paw-esque powers would leave her alone and to her simple child-like gesture to a mere shooting star, this one time. 

**_‘I wish that Byleth and I could live together in peace one day…’_ **

“Why don’t you get some sleep, Byleth. Could help you relax.” she could hear Sothis quietly speaking to Byleth as she shook her head and returned to looking over to him. 

“Yeah… I guess… Bernie, do you--” 

Setting her tea down and patting the combat bow next to her, she smiled when he turned to her. “I’ll keep watch and put out the remnants of the fire, you should rest.” 

Bowing his head, he whispered a “thank you” before staring at the grass between them, unable to look back up at her for a final good night. He was coaxed to look up once more upon feeling her gently rest her forehead against his, a surprisingly forward gesture for her, even though she had come such a long way in feeling comfortable around him by then… 

“Byleth, go. I promise you that I’ll be okay.” she could tell he didn’t want to leave her alone, even for one short night of watch. 

“I… Bernie, I’m--” 

He was cut off by a tender, ever so soft kiss, that while only lasting a brief few moments, left him with nothing but a warm feeling of love and comfort lingering in the quiet air between them. 

“You were doing it again, Byleth. Please, don’t. You just get some rest and we’ll head back to Devrim and report to him tomorrow morning, kay?” her voice was firm, but loving, and full of confidence. 

Byleth couldn’t stop his lips from curving into a smile. 

“I love you, Bernie.”

“I love you too, Byleth.” 

Standing up to head to the tent they were sharing, Byleth stopped and glanced up at the full moon before looking back at Bernadetta, happily humming to herself with Aliena floating close. 

Staring at her, he began recalling something Cayde had once told him, something the Exo apparently wrote for future versions of himself if they ever came along… regarding the person he had called his “Queen of Hearts”. 

_“When the others I've lost along the way start to weigh me down, I think of her, and she just overwrites everything else. That's how strong her pull is. That's how big the hole she left is… Massive. It devours. She swallows all other bad things. Not sure it's healthy, the way I deal with loss. But it's my way. It's what works for me. And it makes me happy. Thinking of her… Makes. Me. Happy. And the loss fades away.”_

Hearing his friend’s voice in his mind, he smiled once more towards Bernadetta before pushing open the tent’s flap and entering.

“My own Queen of Hearts.” 

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ahamkara are reality warping creatures in the Destiny universe who grant wishes that usually have a sinister bent behind them. Riven is the last one alive, the final boss of the Last Wish raid. The “Last Wish” essentially boils down to her staying alive after you kill/cleanse her. 
> 
> Cayde’s quote comes from the lore book “The Man They Called Cayde” I adore it. Cayde is a wonderful character.
> 
> Also I've failed to point out (SO SORRY!) that I am finding somewhat appropriate Destiny Lore entries to use at the beginnings of each entry. The work done on the Lore tabs and Grimoire of the first game is so excellent and I am such a fan of it. I highly recommend reading through some of it!
> 
> More kissy-kissies to come! 
> 
> Title track: Running in the Night by FM-84


	4. Monophobia (Family)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visiting and inspiring the children of the Last City was something that most Guardians took to heart.

**_“This City has children. Children who must stay within designated safe zones.” The two Guardians watched as a boy climbed the largest rock on the field, about four feet in the air, and howled at the sky. “Of course they’re gonna go a little stir-crazy. Parents bring them out to this—you’d think it would have a name—this field every month, and they have at it. Better they hit each other than climb the walls.” - Cayde-6 explaining to Lord Shaxx the workings of the City's children before a Dodgeball tournament._ **

  


In an effort to continue the work started by the late Cayde-6, it was a common sight to see Guardians of the City spend time visiting the common people they protected, bridging the gap between their world and what the people thought of their kind. Cayde wanted the good folk of the City to know that Guardians were just like them, that they were all in the fight for humanity's survival together. 

  


That everyone, no matter how small or large, how young or old, Guardian or not, that everyone was equal, everyone was on the same team. 

  


It was during one of these outreach days that the Hunters Byleth and Bernadetta had met a young boy of no older than seven at the orphanage they were visiting. 

  


Rolen was a happy child, seeming to take life in stride no matter what it may have thrown his way. The young boy, always smiling, took an instant liking to the pair of Hunters who were there with a group of their Guardian friends. 

  


Bernadetta remembered that day clearly, so similar to the look of excitement he had as she waved to the young boy bounding towards herself and Byleth, standing at the front gate of the small orphanage. 

  


"Bernie! Byleth!" the young boy cried out in joy as he continued running, his messy head of hair bobbing in the breeze. 

  


Catching the boy in a hug after kneeling down, Bernadetta beamed as she lifted him in her arms while turning to Byleth. "Hello Rolen!" 

  


“Heya buddy! How’s it going?” Byleth grinned and waved a greeting to the boy as he opened his arms to take him from his companion. 

  


Rolen hugged himself against the cloak around Byleth's shoulders and smiled. "It's so good! I get to spend my birthday with you two!"

  


Nodding towards Bernadetta while moving to set the boy down, Byleth smirked as he watched her rummage through her pack to find the gift they got him. Seeing her smile back after finding the item, Byleth pat Rolen on the head gently. 

  


"Close your eyes, okay? No peeking, Bernie and I got you something!" 

  


Excited, the young Rolen nodded vigorously and closed his eyes, covering them with his hands as to follow exactly what he was told, he wanted to make sure he listened well!

  


Byleth watched as Bernadetta knelt down in front of him with the gift. While she held the box out to the boy, Byleth placed his hand on her shoulder, he could see her glance back up at him with a bright smile on her face at being able to gift the young child his present. 

  


"You can open your eyes now, Rolen." Bernadetta softly spoke, watching as her small friend slowly removed his hands from his face and opened his eyes, wide with surprise at the fairly large package in her hands. "Byleth and I wanted you to have this."

  


Taking the box from her, Rolen set it on the grass of the orphanage yard and rapidly went into opening it. His bright blue eyes went wide as he drew from the box, a handmade Hunter cloak, the deeply blue and white garment looking bigger than him, but something he would grow into. 

  


Unfurling it as quickly as he could, the giddy young boy threw it around his shoulders and smiled proudly at his two Guardian friends. "I'm a Hunter too now!" 

  


Giggling, Bernadetta stood up and nodded alongside Byleth, watching Rolen make finger guns towards the air around them and confidently proclaim his role as a Guardian of the Last City. 

  


"No one is ever going to hurt people in the City again! Not as long as Rolen the Hunter and his mom and dad are here to defend it!" 

  


Staring back at his two older friends, Rolen blushed a deep red and pulled the cloak tightly around him, hiding his face from them, embarrassed by his very boisterous declaration. 

  


Byleth and Bernadetta looked at one another in surprise, a dusting of red covering their own cheeks as they looked to the young boy making a futile attempt to hide from their sight. Watching him squirm and duck out and around the orphanage gate, Byleth stepped forward and whistled in awe. 

  


"You know, bud. You certainly have the agility to help us out with a special mission today. Bernie and I need back up!" he smiled as he rounded the gate and knelt down at the cowering Rolen. 

  


"B-But I… I'm sorry, Byleth!" turning with tears in his bright eyes, Rolen leaned forward and threw his arms around the larger Hunter. 

  


Bernadetta joined their side, kneeling to reach out and ruffle Rolen's messy hair. "Sorry for what, Ro?"

  


Sniffing back more tears, Rolen tried to wipe his tears away while letting go of Byleth. Bowing his head towards the stone path, he spoke softly and sadly. 

  


"I… I just… miss my family and--" 

  


Pulling Byleth and Rolen into a hug, Bernadetta smiled, nodding against the boy's dark hair. "Rolen, it's okay. Byleth and I… you're family to us, you know that right?" 

  


"W-What do--"

  


"We're family, Ro. I… I know we're not your real family but… you mean a lot to us, bud."

  


Nearly breaking out into tears once more, Rolen cried out and pushed himself further into Bernadetta and Byleth's arms. "Y-You are my real family, Byleth! You and Bernie are the best family I could ever have!" 

  


Noticing Bernadetta looking at him with a bright smile and tears filling her gray eyes, Byleth gave her a squeeze and rubbed the boy's back. 

  


Letting go and standing up, Byleth folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow to the air above his shoulder. "Sothis? We're not too late, right? I think we have the firepower now." 

  


Bernadetta, still smiling, stood and watched Rolen wipe more tears away while staring up at Byleth. "Aliena? Can you do a communications check on that secured line for us?" 

  


Sothis, the ever proud Ghost of Byleth, materialized into view while turning her mono-eye towards the center of the City. "We definitely are going to be cutting it close…" 

  


Floating down to Rolen's eye-level, Sothis appeared to size the boy up momentarily. "He's ready. I think you two might have a hard time keeping up with him, to be honest." 

  


Aliena chuckled and bobbed in front of Bernadetta after finishing her task. "Line was clear, I put in the call for us already. We have about twenty minutes, maximum… we should hurry!"

  


"Got it. Byleth? Rolen? We should get going, if we miss this…" 

  


Byleth narrowed his eyes down the road and looked down to Rolen. "You ready, Hunter? There's something pretty important we have to get downtown. Really big deal, you up for this?" 

  


Spinning to look down the somewhat empty afternoon road, Rolen put his fists on his hips and nodded, trying to match the look of focus on Byleth's face. 

  


"I'm ready!" 

  


\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  


Many hours later, with a sleeping Rolen being carried on Byleth's back, the trio returned to the orphanage after undertaking an adventure to pick up a pizza and some snacks that they brought to one of the many small parks of the City for a picnic. Worn out from the day, Rolen had fallen peacefully asleep before they were about to head back. 

  


Quietly approaching the turn onto the road the orphanage was located, Bernadetta glanced over at Byleth carrying Rolen and felt a warm feeling of comfort wash over her. 

  


"He's so happy… I'm glad we could give him this…" she said softly as to not wake the boy. 

  


"Same here. The cloak you made is incredible, Bernie." Byleth smiled back while stopping at the front gate. 

  


"Not that… the whole day. Us. I'm glad we could show him a day as a family, Byleth." 

  


Understanding, Byleth nodded carefully. "He's a wonderful kid… he deserves to be happy." 

  


Reaching out to gently brush his hair, Bernadetta stared at Rolen, stirring at her touch. "Rolen, honey, I promise you that Byleth and I will fight hard to keep you safe and… and maybe one day we can give you exactly what you want from us, okay?"

  


After passing their young friend off to the kindly matron of the orphanage, Byleth and Bernadetta walked back to the gate and looked back to the small, quaint building. 

  


Silently taking her hand in his, Byleth looked up the window where Rolen's room was located and smiled, fighting to not let a tear fall. 

  


"One day, Rolen. I promise." 

  


**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The Destiny-only chapter! Um… notes. I like the name Rolen. Guardians themselves are very big on adoptive families and the strength you can find and grow between non-blood related folks. Monophobia means a fear of being alone. 
> 
> I think that's all I got, Day 4 finished!
> 
> Title Song: Monophobia by deadmau5 and Rob Swire


	5. Not Alone (With You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paracausality can be a real bastard.

**_"From that day to this, the pair have been the closest of companions. In their journeys together, they have found both riches and renown. But these things mean nothing unless they are shared.”_ **

**_“Wait, I thought I’d heard this story before, but it was about two Guardians and the Hive?”_ **

**_“No it wasn’t. It was about the Vault of Glass.”_ **

**_“Whoever said there was only one story?” - A pair of City residents conversing over a well known Guardian legend around the time of Crimson Days._ **

  
  


_ "We don't leave until the last ship is away, understood?" Byleth's voice was loud, commanding, serious.  _

_ His Fireteam, his family, surrounding him all nodded in determined agreement. They were the last defense the fleeing Arcology workers would have against the forces of the Hive and Fallen, who by the arrival of the Pyramid above the jovian moon had been driven into a frenzy.  _

_ "You got it, man." the Warlock Khalid waved with a flick of his fingers. "I'm your eyes and ears."  _

_ "We must ensure that no one gets left behind. I can take someone else and sweep New Pacific one more time." Dimitri, the kind-hearted Titan, looked back with concern towards the large buildings that encompassed the various living habitats where workers and engineers from the City were holed up.  _

_ "I can go with you, Dimitri. Together, I highly doubt anything the Pyramid can do will stop us." Edelgard, Dimitri's eternal friend, placed her armored hand on his shoulder and clenched the burning fist at her side.  _

_ Annette, Warlock of the Praxic Order, having returned to their circle with news from the other Guardian teams assisting with the evacuation, spoke with a nervous demeanor. "Guys, the Hive aren't making this easy. Reports coming in across the station, Taken are supplementing their forces at almost every turn… not sure what's going on but this isn't good."  _

_ Byleth grimaced and sighed. "All right, any word from Felix's team?"  _

_ Bernadetta nodded nervously. "I got word from Caspar that they were roughly holding up in a former pump station tower with a bunch of survivors… they need help."  _

_ Annette, looking visibly worried, glanced between Bernadetta and Byleth. "I could-"  _

_ "Bernie, please. Back Annette up, help our friends and bring those survivors back here for extraction." Byleth placed a comforting hand on the smaller Hunter's cloaked shoulder and spoke softly.  _

_ Between the look of concern on Byleth's face and the worry on Annette's, Bernadetta gulped back her fear and clutched her combat bow tight. "I… I won't let you down, By. Annette, I promise we'll help them."  _

_ Bowing her head in profuse amounts of thanks, Annette reached for her scout rifle off her back and smiled. "Bernie, thank you so much, you too, Byleth." _

_ "Wait, what about you?" Khalid cocked an eyebrow at Byleth after checking the magazine of his sniper rifle, Revoker. "Didn't hear your name anywhere in there, my friend."  _

_ Byleth, with a smirk, thumbed over his shoulder back towards the main landing area of the Rig. "Someone has to keep them busy while you all work. Sloane has Dedue, Leonie, and Lysithea with her, figured I'd lend them a hand, you know?"  _

_ "Wanting a bit of relaxation then, I suppose?" Dimitri, still attempting to hone his humor, jabbed at his Gunslinger friend.  _

_ A chuckle erupted around him, marking an unusually successful joke. Byleth smiled and shrugged, drawing the Ace of Spades from his hip and casually spinning it on his right index finger.  _

_ "Of course. Figured I'd let all of you do the heavy lifting."  _

_ Another laugh was shared for a brief moment before the others in the group donned their helmets and drew their weapons. As the group began to go their separate ways, Bernadetta stayed by Byleth's side, reaching out and taking his hand.  _

_ "Stay safe, please. For me." she whispered, almost coming out as a whimper, while giving his hand a squeeze.  _

_ Byleth holstered Ace of Spades and brushed his hand against her cheek. "I promise. You better do the same, kay?"  _

_ Blushing, Bernadetta nodded and nuzzled into her partner's palm. "I love you."  _

_ Leaning down into a kiss, the pair lingered until they noticed a deeply crimson cheeked Annette trying to whistle and occupy herself nearby. Breaking apart and clearing their throats, Bernadetta slid her helmet on and glanced back to Byleth once more.  _

_ "I love you too, so very much, Bernie." he said with a smile and wave before turning away, looking back at the gunfire near Sloane's outpost. _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Three Hours Later**

"Has anyone heard from Byleth and the Rig team?!" Dimitri shouted over a burst of gunfire from his auto rifle, dispatching a lunging Hive Thrall from closing the gap on him. 

Khalid growled and eliminated a Hive Knight commanding it's Acolytes, from his sniper perch nearby, having moved to back up the Arcology team after the assaults became increasingly dangerous. 

"No! I can't get through this signal jamming!" his voice over their communication channel was crackling, nearly overcome with static. 

The interference in the air was beginning to become a concern for the gathered Fireteam of Guardians. Pinned down near the broken entrance bridge that led inside the Solarium of the Arcology, the team was attempting to fight their way back to the landing zone with the survivors that they had gathered. Having linked up with Felix’s team, the large assembly of Guardians was slowly trying to make their way across the exposed bridge against an onslaught of Pyramid backed Hive forces. 

Bernadetta, growing more fearful for Byleth’s safety, let loose an arrow from her bow, landing direct center in the middle eye of a Hive Knight looking to rain further boomer fire onto their holdout. 

"We need to get help to Byleth and the others, there's no way this is going any better for them!" Khalid, having slid down the ladder of his perch, ran to Bernadetta's side and shouted over the incoming weapons fire. 

"I-I bet we can protect Dimitri and El! They can make it!" her body visibly shaking as she cried out in response. 

Grimacing, Khalid slapped a fresh magazine into Revoker as Dimitri approached their wall of cover, spraying bursts of sustained fire from his own auto rifle. 

"No. Bernadetta, we need you. You're the only one quick enough and stealth-inclined enough to reach them." the large, blue and white armored titan placed a confident hand on her shoulder, hoping his own praise could convince her. 

Bernadetta could feel her chest tightening up, fear was beginning to take a tight hold on her as the world around her seemed to become quiet and muffled. 

All she could hear was her own heavy breathing inside of her helmet. 

"Bernadetta?” 

Edelgard’s gentle voice called out to her over the chaos of the battle around them. Slowly turning to her close friend, Bernadetta saw the look in the titan’s eyes through their helmets, she could see the love and care in them, the desire to help someone dear to her. 

“You’ve been there for all of us-”

“N-No, I-”

“Whether you want to accept it or not, you have always been right beside all of us, all the while since we first met. You have always watched over us.” 

“El-no, you can’t-I.”

“Bernie. Come on.” Khalid spoke up once again, a chuckle escaping his lips as he addressed her. “You need to have some confidence, especially after what we have seen you do.” 

“Bernadetta.” Dimitri calmly called out her name while pulling off his massive secondary weapon from his broad, armored back.

“Sweet Business” was not exactly the name of a weapon one would associate with someone so proper, like Dimitri, however, when the young titan would brandish the large, multi-barreled firearm, those around him knew that it was time for action. Pulling open the front horizontal grip of the weapon, he narrowed his eyes at the horde of Hive across the bridge from them and glanced back over his shoulder after taking a firing position at the broken wall in front of them. 

“It would be my absolute pleasure to keep you covered so you can get to him.” 

Before she could protest further, the blaring cacophony of the spun-up barrels of Sweet Business rained a hail of gunfire on the Thralls charging their position, tearing them apart with complete ease.

Flanked by Edelgard who was carrying her personal fusion rifle, Jötunn, Dimitri nodded with a smile to his friend, who began to rain explosive energy shots towards their enemies. 

“Bernadetta, go.” 

“We got this, Bernie!” Khalid waved to her before joining his friends at the firing line, leaving her to take in everything happening around her. 

**_‘I can’t do this.’_ ** she internally screamed at herself, nearly dropping her bow from the shaking of her hands.  **_‘Why does everyone think I can?!’_ **

“Bernie?” a soft metallic voice called out to her, familiar, comforting, the first voice she ever heard in her second life. 

Aliena, her beautiful, unmarred shell floated into her tearful view, she could almost swear the Ghost was smiling a mother’s smile at her. 

“Byleth needs you, honey. Let’s go help him.” she gently explained, as only she could. 

“H-He-” 

**_‘Is going to die if you don’t get to him’_ ** her mind shouted back at her. 

Taking a deep, calming breath, her gaze focusing down towards the weapon in her hand. Subconsciously, she slung her bow across her back and drew from her hip, the prized sub-machine gun she had been given as a part of the Crucible Championship Fireteam. 

A weapon fittingly titled “The Recluse”.

Gripping the compact firearm close, she turned towards the precarious path she would have to weave and stealth through, focused on a singular, all encompassing thought.

“Hold on, Byleth.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blinking the haze from his unarmored eyes, Byleth sat up, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his senses to reorient himself once again. The smell of smoke, burning wood, and the sounds of battle in the air around him quickly brought his attention forward, noticing that he was no longer facing down a legion of seemingly rabid Fallen combatants.

He was sitting in the streets of a completely foreign city. 

Its architecture looked archaic, in his opinion, but not completely alien to him.

No… he had seen places like this before… 

In his dreams.

“What the hell…?” a voice, a strikingly familiar voice called out incredulously from behind him. 

Catching his breath in his throat, Byleth slowly rose to his feet and turned to face the speaker. 

“You… you’re…” he spoke quietly, carefully, though not as shocking as he would have believed the situation to be as his mind raced along… 

“You’re me…” the man behind him, looking like a mint-haired version of himself, dressed in something akin to warlock robes, asked while cocking an eyebrow at him. “Judging by your strange look… you’re the me I keep seeing in my dreams aren’t you?”

Shrugging his cloaked shoulders with a smirk, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the situation and by the amount of composure they were showing one another. 

After all, how often does one have the chance to… meet themselves?

“Could say the same to you, friend.” Byleth shrugged before glancing down at his feet, seeing no sign of his dropped hand cannon. “Damn it.” he cursed under his breath. 

“Looking for something?” his counterpart asked while taking steps closer, looking surprisingly at ease as he did. “Ah.”

Pausing briefly upon looking at the Hunter’s hip, his gaze fell to the dirt road of the burning city. “The… Ace of Spades, you call it?” 

“Yeah… probably got lost when I… was sent here?” his voice trailing off into a question as he looked around the chaos. “Where are we?”

Turning, gripping the Sword of the Creator tightly in hand, Byleth glanced solemnly towards what could be described as the city center. “The City of Fhirdiad… we’re trying to end a war. A war that… I’m sure you-”

“Know a lot about… yeah…” the Hunter bowed his head, recalling the many nights of less than pleasant dreams about the death and sorrow his fellow self had to endure. “Byleth, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” 

“Don’t. It’s… the path we have to walk, isn’t it? You’re fighting your own war where you’re from, you don’t have to-” he tried to interject, to protest his other self’s apology. 

“My war isn’t against our friends and family though… I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through.” whispering while looking at a burning building, his hands tightly gripped into fists, he wasn’t ready for the gravity of his alternate’s situation. 

The Hunter’s eyes widened as he scanned the immediate area, his mind jumping to the safety of someone of mutual concern. “Where’s Bernie?” his voice questioning the other with a bit more underlying anger than he had wanted. 

“She’s with El and Dorothea, they’re pushing through the other side of the city. I know she’s safe, she’s-” Byleth smiled confidently at the thought of his favorite lavender-haired archer after explaining further. 

“Bernie, after all. I understand.” the Hunter noticed his smile at his interjection and addition to the end of the explanation. “She’s never been anything less than dependable.” 

“Exactly.” 

After a few brief moments of silence between them, the Hunter looked to the sword in his opposite’s right hand. “Funny that the anomaly we found was actually a sword…” he mused while taking a step closer. 

“I’ve heard you speak about it, the Sword of the Creator is not a relic where you’re from?” 

Shaking his head, he noticed his counterpart holding the weapon up to him, as if beckoning him to take it into his own grip. “No… it’s… complicated.” shaking his head with wide-eyes, he continued. “Byleth, I couldn’t. You’re the rightful wielder of that thing.” 

“And you’re me, aren’t you?” the Swordsman smiled and pushed the handle of the sword closer. “You never did get to take hold of the one in your world, right?” 

Sighing, the Hunter shook his head. “No.” 

Reaching out carefully, he grasped the hilt of the sword in hand and held it aloft, feeling something he could only describe as “right”, while gripping the weapon. “Feels good, a strong weapon.” 

Handing it back, the Swordsman nodded a thank you to him before glancing over his shoulder, down the road heading further into the city. “Something of yours?” he asked quietly, his gaze unmoving. 

Turning and spotting the source of interest, Byleth sighed and nodded. “Yep… some kind of artifact… almost like a corrupted Oracle… goddamn Pyramids.”

A floating ivory sphere of pulsing orange energy hovered across from them, silently, ominously in the hot air of the burning Fhirdiad. Both Byleths felt a strange aura about the object as they stared, as if the sphere was subconsciously calling to both of them, while also somehow warning them… of the consequences of destroying it. 

“Think destroying it will get you home?” 

Shrugging, the Hunter cracked his knuckles, which appeared to send crackles of arc lightning across his fists. “Only one way to find out, yeah?”

Letting out a laugh at the annoying groaning through his mind coming from the sphere, the Swordsman brought the Sword of the Creator up into a familiar combat stance. “That orb is trying to tell us that if we destroy it, we can never meet or see each other’s reality again…? It’s implying you’re trapped here…”

Reaching back into thin air, the Hunter called forth a blade of pure arc energy, subconsciously molding it into a weapon matching the Swordsman’s. Grinning calmly, he chuckled over his shoulder. “Well there’s no way either of us would let Bernie be alone back where I’m from. I gotta say, for being so dangerous… the Darkness is pretty damn stupid.” 

“Take good care of her, Byleth the Hunter, or else I’ll have to find a way to your… Earth, was it? And deal with you.” 

“Same to you, Byleth Eisner. Don't make me have to come back here.”

Sharing a final laugh, the pair lunged forward, the orb letting out one last subconscious shriek of fear as their pair of blades sliced clean through it, bright energy exploding forth, dissipating into glowing golden sparks, dancing through the thick air around the Swordsman as he noticed he was once again alone in the empty street. 

Hearing another powerful roar of the Immaculate One in the distance, Byleth Eisner took heart and broke into a sprint down the road towards his final battle. Thinking back to his alternate self, he steeled himself for the battle with Rhea, ready to end the war that had cost the lives of so many friends and people he once called family. 

He also hoped and wished for his counterpart’s success and safety in his own battles back home. 

Whispering to the air around him as he ran, he couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile of pure pride.

“Make your own fate, Guardian.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Byleth?!” a terrified young woman’s voice cried out to him as he heard the blaring sounds of Fallen scorcher fire around him. “Byleth, wake up, please!” 

His vision, annoyingly hazy once again, came into focus, directly on his favorite lavender Hunter, standing above him protectively while unloading a magazine of the Recluse into a charging Fallen Vandal. Spotting a wounded, unshielded Captain lunging towards her exposed back, Byleth’s senses kicked into overdrive as he instinctively reached for the fallen Ace of Spades. 

Finding it exactly where his hand believed it to be, he leveled the cannon towards the Captain and delivered a single, killing blow to its helmeted head. 

“Bernie!” he cried out while rolling backwards and to his feet, to better cover her. 

“Byleth!” he could hear the relief and in her voice as he stood at her back, joining her and the rest of their assembled Fireteam in driving off the Fallen from the landing deck. “I-I was so scared!”

It was obvious she had been crying. 

“I’m okay Bernie, I owe you one, like usual.” he smiled and lowered his hand cannon after another volley of fire, fending off the remnants of the attacking foes. “Did we get everyone?” 

“Y-Yes! We’re loading the last of the engineers right now!” she was completely incapable of controlling the volume of her voice after fearing that he had been… lost. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Byleth looked to the many friends around them and smiled, they were all safe, unharmed, and alive. His thoughts drifting back to the Swordsman he had met earlier… he looked up into the Titan sky, past the looming Pyramid, up towards the stars above. 

“Bring peace to Fodlan, my friend…” he whispered into the howling winds, just loud enough for Bernadetta to hear. 

“Byleth, what are you…?” 

“It’s a long story…” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Byleth?!” Bernadetta von Varley screamed in terror upon spotting the Adrestian Emperor, Edelgard von Hresvelg, clutching onto the fallen, somehow once again blue haired form of her most precious person. “Goddess, no!” 

Dashing to Edelgard’s side, she fell to her knees and trembling, reached for Byleth’s face. 

He couldn’t be dead. 

No, not after… 

Feeling the familiar band of metal around her left ring finger, Bernadetta choked out his name before letting tears fall as Edelgard let her friend hug her lover. “Byleth! You have to wake up!”

A deep breath caught them both by surprise, forcing Bernadetta to pull back, just in time to see a pair of familiar eyes blink to focus on her. Smiling through the pain and soreness shooting through his body, Byleth pulled Bernadetta into a deep kiss and pulled away after a few tender moments, resting their foreheads against one another. 

“He’d kill me if I left you alone…” he breathed out slowly, with a light laugh.

“W-Who would?” Bernadetta couldn’t believe what she was hearing at the moment.

“It’s a long story…” 

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: THIS GOT WAY DEEPER THAN IT WAS IN MY STORY NOTES. I am so very sorry if it got waaaay too Sci-Fi for anyone. Also wow, a lot longer than I aimed for... Uh… yeah so Day 5! Woohoo?
> 
> Title track: Not Alone by Kalax


	6. Quantum Magic (Ring)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King and Queen of Hearts.

**_"Worlds end. And when yours does, make sure you have a partner you can rely on." —The Drifter, offering ominous yet touching advice, regarding the coming Darkness._ **

"Do you think the other us got married already?" Bernadetta, lying comfortably snug in her blankets, asked up towards the dimly lit ceiling above. 

Feeling a shifting weight next to her followed by an arm wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her against the other occupant of the bed, she turned her head to see Byleth smiling at her. “Probably… seemed like their war was coming to an end.” 

Snuggling herself closer, she blushed and offered him a smile of her own. “I’m glad. I… kind of miss seeing dreams of them, you know?” 

Byleth nodded while glancing out the window across from their shared bed. “Me too… but knowing him, he’s making her the happiest person in their world and I bet she’s doing the same for him.” 

Feeling a bit daring, Bernadetta climbed atop him and giggled, staring down at him beneath her. “What about us?” she had mustered up just enough nerve to playfully ask. 

Winking up at her, he smirked. “Come on now. I know you know the answer to that.” 

Leaning down closer, she brushed her fingers across his cheek and grinned. “Oh? Do I?” 

Without looking away from her deep gray eyes, Byleth snuck his hand up to hers and idly tapped his fingers across it. “Mmhm.” his voice trailed off into a pleased humming as he continued lightly tapping on the back of her hand and fingers… seemingly stopping to play with a particular one. 

Moments passed before she began to notice the circular motion he was slowly making. 

“B-Byleth?” she choked out his name while raising her free right hand to cover her mouth as she stared down at the way he was snaking his fingers around her left ring finger. 

“Would you marry me, Bernie?” he whispered, leaning up to sit her on his lap, the morning sun bathing them both in soft light. 

Throwing her arms around his neck while letting tears of joy run down her cheeks, Bernadetta nodded fiercely into his bare shoulder. “Y-Yes! Byleth, yes! Of course! I love you so much!” 

“I love you too, Bernie.” holding her tight, he let out a breath he had been holding in until she gave her answer, Byleth laughed. “I’m sorry I don’t have a proper ring on me… this morning just felt right for it.” 

Moments later, after sniffing away some of her tears Bernadetta leaned up and kissed him, letting it linger before pulling away with a chuckle of her own. “Silly… the ring isn’t everything. Having you is all I need, By.”

A perfectly timed grumble of Bernadetta's stomach caught both of their attention, sharing a stifled laugh, they leaned in for one more kiss before she spoke up once more. "Um… I guess I need something to eat too…" 

Byleth playfully ruffled her hair affectionately before standing up and stretching his arms out in the morning light. Letting out an overexaggerated yawn, he pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards their bedroom door. 

"Why don't I cook us breakfast?" 

Padding around the side of the bed, Bernadetta laughed and hugged him. "Oh, Byleth. While I love that idea… do you remember the last time?" 

Scratching the back of his head, Byleth put a finger to his chin while thinking back a few weeks. "In my defense, I'm a much better outdoor cook." 

"How about we cook something together?" she leaned against his chest and asked softly. 

Byleth slid his arms around her and nodded. "That sounds lovely to me, Bernie." 

"Let's make some breakfast then wash up… and let's…" his voice grew quiet and thoughtful as he followed her out into the main space of their apartment. 

"By?" 

Looking to the large bay window of the living room, a beautiful view of the City outside, Byleth smiled, seeing her notice his reflection on the glass. 

"Let's go see Rolen." 

Excitement covered the smaller woman's features at the thought of the young orphan boy and telling him the news of that morning first, before anyone else. 

"He'll be so happy for us…" 

Turning and taking her hands in his, Byleth stared down at her, his expression serious and full of care. "Bernie, I promise. Once we win our own war… we're going to give him the family he always wanted. We'll get married and be able to adopt our son. You have my word, okay?" 

Brushing some tears from her eyes, Bernadetta nodded and smiled bright. "Then… then I'll get stronger, Byleth. I'll fight hard… for you. For Rolen. For everyone!" 

"You know I'll always be right there with you. Right by your side. We'll beat the Pyramids. We'll make the world safe for him." 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing on the beach of a beautiful Brigid shore, the smooth landscape bathed in bright moonlight, the newly wed Byleth and Bernadetta Eisner stood hand in hand looking out at the ocean. Between gentle waves spilling onto the shore, the couple could hear the celebratory sounds of their still ongoing reception down the beach from them. 

"I'm glad everyone is having such a wonderful time…" Byleth mused quietly while watching water lap close to their bare feet. 

Bernadetta leaned her head against his shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. "I am too… but I'm still not used to being the center of attention like that…" 

"It's okay, Bernie. They're just happy for us." he said while rubbing her back to calm her nerves. 

"I-I know… it's just still very hard for me." she chuckled at the sand below before turning her attention back to the ocean ahead. 

Taking a step forward into the path of the warm water, she squeezed Byleth's hand and looked up into the starry sky. "Byleth?" 

Joining her, the water proving to be extremely relaxing to feel beneath him, he slid an arm around her waist and looked up alongside her. "Hmmm?"

"Do you think the… other Byleth and Bernie are happy?" 

Thinking back to his meeting of his alternate self back in Fhirdiad, months ago, Byleth was reminded that neither himself nor Bernadetta had experienced any dreams of them since. Saddened by the thought of something terrible having happened to them both, Byleth went quiet.

Noticing this, Bernadetta pointed out towards a bright star next to the full moon. "I bet they are… somewhere out there, I know they are." 

"You think so?" he asked with a whisper, his mind wandering to the times he dreamed of the chaotic world the others lived in, the constant struggles for survival, the dangers… 

It was terrifying to think about.

"Mhm." she was unable to stop smiling as she continued. "I know they're happy because we're happy, Byleth. They have each other, just like we do.” 

Her hope was infectious, he found himself taking to heart her words and remembering the pure confidence and strength he saw in the Hunter’s eyes the day the war ended. 

He saw determination. 

He saw willpower. 

He saw everything that Bernadetta and those others he considered his family told him that they saw within himself. 

Byleth smiled and pulled his new wife close. “You’re amazing, Bernie.” 

Blushing, Bernadetta nervously shook her head and tried to protest. “N-No! N-Not like you!” 

Rolling his eyes with a smirk, he leaned in for a passionate kiss. 

Slowly pulling apart he stared into her eyes and brushed her cheek with his fingers. “I love you, Bernie. So much.” 

“I love you too, Byleth…” she said with a deep crimson still covering her cheeks. 

Taking a moment, the newlyweds looked back up to the stars one final time before making their way back to their friends, wanting to see them one final time before they decided to retire to their own wedding night privacy for the night. Their thoughts drifted one last time to the strange versions of themselves that they both wished could one day live in peace and harmony together, with no war, no Darkness, no need for them to spend eternity in battle as Guardians. 

That they could live alongside all of their friends, some of their friends whose Fodlan-selves were not able to be by their side any longer… 

Maybe someday, they would know if their wishes came true… 

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I used up so much brain power doing Day 5 that I apologize for the length and stuff of this one… wooboy. So this penultimate chapter is the last time we’re gonna be visiting the Destiny-verse in detail and I’m oddly saddened by it, but at the same time happy for the newly engaged Guardians! 
> 
> Title Track: Quantum Magic by Esselfortium
> 
> Tomorrow will be the conclusion and last post of ByledettaWeek! Thank you all for reading these so far!


	7. Everything is Going to Be Okay (Finale)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Every moment matters. And from a great distance, in the midst of a thousand careful disasters, you watch the transformation with your own eyes.
> 
> The rose has blossomed." -Dreams of Alpha Lupi

**_"I know," she said. "I can see it. I can feel it."_ **

**_"Even the stars are brighter now," said the voice over the radio. "The whole cosmos is ablaze."_ **

**_She closed her eyes. "I can't wait to see it. I'm coming home. Efrideet out." -Lady Efrideet upon her Light returning to her at the end of the Red War_ **

"M-Mom? Dad?" 

The sleeping couple was jostled awake by the soft voice of a young child calling out to them, their parental instincts kicking into overdrive at the worry in his voice. After the end of the Edelgard’s war, it was one of the only things that would startle them both awake.

After all, their precious son needed them.

"Rolen?" Bernadetta asked while quietly pulling herself out of bed to move to her son's side, watching him rubbing sleep from his tired eyes as she approached. "Rolen, honey. What's wrong?"

Byleth soon joined her in kneeling at the boy's side, gently ruffling the boy's shaggy lavender hair with a smile. "Couldn't sleep?" 

Rolen Eisner shook his head and looked to his mother and father with his deep blue eyes… eyes that matched his father's. "N-No…" he let out a tiny yawn, the boy was exhausted from having just woken himself up in the middle of the night. 

"Bad dream?" Byleth asked, his hand moving to the boy's shoulder. 

Their son responded with a slow, tired nod. 

Bernadetta smiled before she reached out and pulled his smaller form against her in a hug. "It's okay, Rolen. Dreams can't hurt you."

Joining the hug, Byleth held his wife and son close. "Mom is right, Ro. It was just a dream." 

Rolen, too tired to continue standing, fell further into his mother, who gladly gathered the small boy into her arms. "It was… so real…" he whispered into her shoulder.

"They can be sometimes, buddy. Your mom and I understand it really well." Byleth stood up alongside Bernadetta and followed her into the hall, towards Rolen's room, looking to help their son fall back asleep in peace. 

Reaching the comfortably small room that belonged to him, Bernadetta padded over to the side of his bed and lay him down, assisted by her husband, they tucked the boy back under his covers with a smile. 

Rolen managed a tiny curve of his lips before breaking out into a powerful yawn. "Mom? Dad?" 

Standing, holding hands on the side of his bed, his parents quietly lended him all of their attention at his quiet questioning of them both. 

Closing his sleepy blue eyes, Rolen continued smiling as he pulled his blankets close before speaking his peace.

"I… I know it was a dream… but whatever a Guardian is… I want to be one like you both when I grow up…" 

The child did not see the shared looks of shock and surprise on his parent's faces at his innocent revelation of his dream. Lacing their fingers as they silently left their sleeping son to rest, Byleth and Bernadetta stepped out into the dimly lit hallway and smiled to one another on the way back to their room. 

Byleth chuckled softly as they entered their bedroom once more, drawing Bernadetta's curious attention. 

"You were right, just like always. They really are happy."

The couple knew, as they walked to the large window across their room and stared out at the stars above them, that somewhere out there, in the infinite expanses of space and time, Byleth and Bernadetta were happy, alongside their adopted son, Rolen. 

They knew that the Guardians had lived up to their namesake and that no matter what would come in the future, whatever peril or troubles, they would always be prepared.

Together.

As a family.

  
  


**_“Find the path to your best self and walk it. Because the alternative is a lonely road. Don't you ever forget it._ **

**_Otherwise, I may just have to come back._ **

**_And kick your ass._ **

**_See ya later, pal.”_ **

**_—Cayde-6_ **

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: We've reached the end of the road. Day 7, the Free day. The end of the incredible ByledettaWeek that gave me the wonderful opportunity to contribute to a fun project and see many other amazing works by such incredibly talented and skilled people!
> 
> I'd also like to thank the wonderful writers at Bungie for all of the super inspiring lore in their universe. I will never be able to tell enough people to check it out and dive into it, it's deep and very well done.
> 
> This is a short, sweet ending that I like to think brings it back together and happy for both universes Byleth and Bernie. 
> 
> Thank you again to Tefu for starting the ByledettaWeek tag this week and thank you to you all who came to read the first public writing I've ever put out in the world. Means a ton to me and… yeah, woot, thank you!
> 
> The final, fitting, Title Track: Everything is Going to be Okay by Mick Gordon.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So first time doing this sort of thing (posting a fic to the public!)… things to note about this set of stories!
> 
> This is the Day 1 prompt of #Byledettaweek, a project started by Tefu (@tefu_if), a positively wonderful Japanese artist who loves to draw Byleth and Bernadetta. I’ll have the prompt names in the titles for each day!
> 
> I like to name writings after songs I listen to while writing or that inspire me to write more. Sometimes they will line up thematically, sometimes not! Who knows! So to not get wordy on this note, here’s the songs I’ve used so far:
> 
> Heart Wired by Volkor X  
> Visions of You (Miami Nights 1984 Remix) by ROOM8
> 
> Last thing, I want to give a major thank you to my wonderful girlfriend for her nudging me into posting these (and being super hyped for this week!), and to my close friend and partner in FE and Destiny crime, TuriansCanDance, for also being super supportive in my first ever post endeavor!


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